Player grades: Chet Holmgren impresses in preseason debut in 122-121 win vs. Wemby’s Spurs
OKLAHOMA CITY — Grabbing the rebound, Chet Holmgren forced Zach Collins to commit a shooting foul. After over a year’s wait, the 2022 No. 2 pick’s first points at OKC came at the free-throw line.
The mundaneness surrounding his first points didn’t deter from the specialness of Monday’s Oklahoma City Thunder 122-121 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Even though it was just the first preseason game, the atmosphere inside Paycom Center felt different. The return of Holmgren along with the fact that this game also served as Victor Wembanyama’s debut created an unprecedented feeling for the exhibition matchup.
This was the first of countless matchups between the two giants. Holmgren and Wembanyama headline this season’s historic rookie class — and for good reason. Both players enter the league with several years of coverage already making them household names.
This first round between the two top-two picks likely ends in a draw. Both Holmgren and Wembanyama were fantastic and showed off why they’re both members of the next great generation of players.
“I played against him a couple of years ago in FIBA,” Holmgren said about his first game against Wembanyama. “It’s really cool to see players from across the world be connected through the NBA. I plan to play a long time and I’m sure he does too so it’ll be no choice but to go back and forth.”
Even though both Holmgren and Wembanyama got all of the hype for the preseason opener, plenty of other Thunder players also shined in the one-point win.
Daigneault elected to play all 17 available players, as the preseason serves as an opportunity for a head coach to experiment a bit in an inconsequential game environment.
Other Thunder standouts include Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams. Both players had their moments in the first half and it was exciting to see how they meshed with Holmgren for the first time in an NBA game. Davis Bertans also shined in the second half as he provided OKC with four 3-pointers.
This game also marked the debut for Cason Wallace, who drew the start after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was ruled out for rest. He had a quiet stat line of two points, five rebounds and three steals.
Even without the stats, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault raved about Wallace and noted how seasoned of a player he looked on the court.
“He’s a winning player. He’s tough, smart. Plays inside the team. He lets the game tell him what to do,” Daigneault said. “… He looked like that was his 100th game.”
For the Spurs, Wembanyama was their best player. In 19 minutes, he had 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and five rebounds. Collins had 15 points, five assists and five rebounds. Malaki Branham had 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Both teams’ offenses were humming along. The Thunder scored a franchise-record 74 points in the first half — the most for a preseason game. The second half was a different story as the production wasn’t the same due to the reserves playing the entire final two quarters.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Chet Holmgren: A+
Holmgren’s home debut went about as perfectly as it could’ve gone.
The 2022 No. 2 pick played his first game in front of the OKC crowd and was electric in the first half he played in. In 16 minutes, he finished with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting, nine rebounds and one block.
The seven-footer scored in a variety of ways that included fancy finishes around the rim and as a traditional lob threat. Despite a foot injury delaying his debut for over a year, Holmgren quickly reminded fans and the league why he was viewed as one of the better prospects in recent memory.
Even though all of the outside noise billed this game as the Chet vs. Wemby show, Holmgren didn’t let it influence him and simply viewed it as a preseason game between two young teams.
“That’s something that you can really get baited into,” Holmgren said. “It tends to happen to young players sometimes. I feel like Vic — as well as myself — did a really good job at understanding that this isn’t the Vic vs. Chet show.”
Jalen Williams: B+
It was a slow start for Williams’ preseason debut, but an electric second quarter quickly served as a reminder as to how good last year’s Rookie of the Year runner-up is.
In 18 first-half minutes, Williams finished with 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting and four rebounds. He also oddly struggled from the free-throw line as he shot just 3-of-7 — an uncharacteristic percentage considering he shot 81% last season.
Even though Williams started 1-of-8 from the field, the shooting in itself is an encouraging sign. Several of his misses were unlucky bounced on 50/50 shots, which makes the poor shooting number easier to understand.
Lots of talk has surrounded him since last season about taking more offensive responsibilities considering his scoring talent. If it means sacrificing some of his efficiency from last season, then that’ll be a means that justifies an end.
Josh Giddey: B+
Giddey was another Thunder starter who didn’t suit up for the second half. In 18 first-half minutes, he finished with 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting and five assists.
Without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — who sat out due to rest — Giddey had the keys to OKC’s offense. He utilized the reps to work on his two-man game with Holmgren, which conjured positive results as the two paired up for a wing 3-pointer from Holmgren off of a Giddey whip pass.
Both players will likely spend significant minutes on the court together this season, so it was important for both to get their first taste of playing with each other since last year’s summer league.
Davis Bertans: B+
During Thunder shootarounds Monday morning, Bertans mentioned that he hopes his career 42.9% from 3 on 6.1 attempts at OKC carries over to his tenure with the team.
Well, one game in — granted it’s preseason — that’s a success.
After sitting out the entire first half, Bertans started the second half on fire as he made three 3-pointers on the wing in the opening four minutes. The 30-year-old’s range was quickly on display in his debut for the Thunder.
In 10 minutes off the bench, he had 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3. Those are some really efficient scoring numbers on minimal usage that’ll quickly skyrocket Bertans in OKC’s rotation.
